Photos by Stacie Joy
Dog lovers turned out in droves — The New York Times estimated the crowd size at 15,000 — to watch the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade yesterday afternoon.
Contestants and their humans strolled along Avenue B from 12th Street to Seventh Street ... a team of judges selected 40 finalists (Best in Show!), who continued onto the stage in the center of the Park (read more on the background here) ...
Here's a look at a few of the costumes... drawing heavily as always from pop culture, including the "Barbie" movie, Joker from Batman and Cruella de Vil ... and there were multiple NYC rat czars...
Pookah, a Pomeranian going as "Winnie the Pookah," received the top prize...
21 comments:
Always the best pics Stacey!
This is great. So many happy-looking people enjoying the day.
Pookah was stunningly photogenic, posing for the crowds lining the route with aplomb. I wasn't surprised to hear that she won!
the this is fine costume was genius
The creativity and humor is so refreshing. Love the pictures.
15,000 people? Wow! Great photos.
I live a block away and specifically spent the day inside of my apartment because of the enormous crowds. When I first moved to our hood in 2010, this was more of a low key local event for our community. Now, it is quite significant drawing people from other boroughs and out of state. It's amazing how popular this has become. I am happy this day brought a lot of joy to many people and their cute doggies. Most cats, including my own would balk at this parade. He won't even allow me to place a collar on his neck let alone a costume. Can you imagine if one year the city hosted an annual cat halloween parade? That would be interesting.
Wow. I think it was 1990 when this started and there was more than enough room to stand at the fence at the run the first few years and watch it happen inside. Brings to mind how the Halloween Parade has changed too. That started at Christopher Street and ending at Washington Square Park. Glad I am old and got to experience the neighborhood back then. Also glad that neighborhood traditions continue to make for good memories.
Mark--I saw one cat participant, in an enclosed carrier being carried by "Gandalf." The cat really did not appear to GAF. Unusual for a cat, I agree!
BTW, for the person concerned about "animal cruelty" earlier, I saw a couple of pet guardians responsibly taking their tapped-out animals off the route.
I would like to know how much if any money went to actually operate the dog run. That was the goal of this event when it went from being a little event for people and their pets who visited the dog run as opposed to the international event it has become. People had their cars towed; people who live on Avenue B and 7th street likely couldn't run errands; go to the laundry mat; enjoy a quiet afternoon in their apartments; etc. as a result. Most of the businesses on this stretch of Avenue B and 7th street lost business as you couldn't get near them. Perhaps some other neighborhood businesses benefitted if the people and their dogs actually spent money in the businesses not on Avenue B and 7th street. So tell me how this is good for the neighborhood? Seems like all the benefits go to marketing the EV as a place to party, leave your garbage and in this case dog poop behind - btw the park was even more disgusting than it normally is after this event. Tell me how this benefits those of us who actually live here - we are actually a neighborhood not an entertainment district.
Hi Sarah...
My concern are the bigger dogs. I wouldn't want my cat anywhere near them for fear they could be attacked or worse. And you're right. My cat doesn't GAF either. :) Ha.
I am in full agreement with 2:05.
While I am supportive of this ongoing event, and while I truly love seeing all kinds of dogs in their costumes, it is overwhelming to circumvent around thousands of people when you're trying to take care of personal business on your day off. I had to walk in the opposite direction of my apartment just to run errands. There isn't adequate space to facilitate the parade any longer in this public square. If there were 15,000 people, changes need to be implemented next year. What if an accident or an emergency arises? No wonder it was originally canceled. Who is actually spearheading this? And yes, who is paying for it too? I have a lot of questions as this reminds me of Santa Con, where I literally stay indoors for twenty-fours to avoid catastrophe. I've lived in this neighborhood since 88. Different time. But when the parade first began, there was little traction. Now, it is insanely overcrowded, not to mention the neighboring streets and avenues. Why does the EV receive so much drama?
Some of you guys have perhaps outlived your tolerance for downtown city life. This was not SantaCon (which I would have NO problem shutting down). There weren't crowds of drunken revellers. It wasn't insanely loud. It was on a Sunday afternoon after most church services would be over. There were a ton of kids/families there. I don't know why you'd assume that that wouldn't also lead to people at least eating and otherwise spending their money nearby. Sometimes big cities have events that temporarily inconvenience nearby residents. No one likes the inconvenience, but it's part of the tradeoff. Six whole blocks is just not the end of the world.
God bless every one of these patient animals. Going through all this malarkey so that their silly humans can have some fun.
Hi Sarah. Those of who raise concerns haven't lost our tolerance for City life, just our tolerance for poorly planned events. Parades with 15 thousand people belong on traditional parade routes like 5th Ave or Broadway. Wide streets etc. Not tiny little side streets. Your comment reeks of ageism and the go back to the suburbs comments. I'm a born and raised NYer and have been to parades before. This isn't the drag queen parade which I have attended for many years. That has a couple hundred people not 15 thousand. What happens next year if the weather is nice and after all the publicity, 30,000 people show up? What happens if someone in one of the buildings along the route needs an ambulance? Should they die for the sake of this stupid parade? The Dance Parade ends in the Park but that's not the route and that doesn't even draw half as many people. Noone seems to answer the question about where the profits go?
"Noone seems to answer the question about where the profits go?"
Five seconds of research (even just reading EVG's coverage!) would tell you they go to support the dog run in the park, which is primarily supported by the community, not the city. If you really can't be bothered to Google yourself, there is a lovely branch of the NYPL right there on the park where people are paid to help you do research.
"What happens if someone in one of the buildings along the route needs an ambulance? Should they die for the sake of this stupid parade?"
This is an argument against literally EVERY closure of city streets for an event. There were cops present. The entire event was less than two hours and closed six blocks on the perimeter of the park (meaning one side of every street wasn't even housing). When fear of every negative possibility comes to dominate your reactions to your world, such that you can't even enjoy fun things, yes, maybe the city is no longer the ideal setting for you. Happens to some people at 35, to some at 75, to some never, but being aware of when the pluses of your chosen environment no longer outweigh the negatives is key to keeping yourself happy. I'm middle-aged myself and I revisit the question regularly.
I must agree with 2:05 from outside my door on 13th there was a lot of confusion about the size of the crowd assembling and what this was about. Police were scurrying around and didn’t know where to put folks and so they just started telling people to start walking down Ave B. It looks like an overwhelming number of people showed up at the end of the parade route too.
Beautiful smile on NYT Spelling Bee Dog. Actually looks happy to be there!
Such great photos! Love it.
15,000 people showed up for a dog parade. That’s twice the number that voted in our last election! (Rivera 4688; Ryan 2980)
To 2:48,
You could make an argument if all 15K were from this district, but people were from all over the place. The winners live on the Upper West Side, just for one example.
Post a Comment